


Sirius Black and the Unicorn

by byebyebluejay



Series: Mischief Managed: Marauding Stories [6]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Hogwarts, M/M, Marauders Friendship, Marauders' Era, Mischief, cuteness, light language and boyish attitude
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-11-23 14:24:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11404278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/byebyebluejay/pseuds/byebyebluejay
Summary: Sirius desperately wants to befriend the unicorn in Care of Magical Creatures. Remus is worried he's going to get himself trampled.





	Sirius Black and the Unicorn

Everyone had been looking forward to the lesson on unicorns. Peter, who still had a nasty bite on his hand from last week’s lesson on Jarveys that he hadn’t bothered going to the hospital wing for, was particularly enthusiastic. But as the four of them walked down to the paddock on the grounds where the lessons were taking place, it was Sirius who broke away from the group.

“Look at them!” He was racing towards the group of four golden unicorn foals frolicking in the grass, jumping and kicking, tails swishing, “Wormtail, Moony! Come on!” He added, because James had started running too, by default, reaching the fence just a second behind Sirius. 

“Oh, wow!” Peter said, jogging to catch up with them. Remus, still aching from the full moon two days ago, couldn’t bring himself to run. He reached the fence half a minute later. Sirius was already standing on the bottom rung of the fence, steadying himself with one hand while he reached out with the other, whistling at the foals as though he were trying to call a dog. 

“Come here, babies! Want some…” He withdrew his hand for a moment to pat down his robes, but finding nothing satisfactory to offer, pulled out his wand instead, “Accio apple!” The glass window of the large shed where Care of Magical Creatures was held in bad weather shattered, and a slightly bruised apple came whizzing towards Sirius, who had no hands free to catch it. James lunged for it, quick as lightning, and snatched it out of the air. He jumped up onto the fence beside Sirius, holding it out. 

“Want an apple? Come on, come here. Come here…” Two of the foals had indeed stopped their playing and were watching them with deep, liquid eyes. 

“That was my idea, Prongs,” Sirius said, pouting as he made a grab for it, nearly falling off the fence in the process, “Get your own.” James easily kept it out of Sirius’s reach.

“Get another one.” 

“You’re just as good at summoning charms as I am.”

“Speculo repairo,” Remus said, and the glass window of the shed snapped back into proper form, and then, “Accio apple.” That halted the fraternal bickering as the apple shot out of James’s hand and into his own palm. Peter laughed, and Sirius and James were quick to follow. “I think you’ll attract more unicorns if you don’t argue,” Remus said as he crouched down by the fence, holding out the apple between the slats. “Want something to eat? You’re going to have to sit through Professor Kettleburn’s lecture before you’ll have another chance to get a snack.”

“Are you trying to use logic on a baby unicorn, Moony?” James asked, laughing as he jumped off the fence, tucking his hands into the pockets of his robes. Sirius remained on the fence though, quiet, eyes intent on the unicorn foals. 

“Shhh…” He hissed, because sure enough, one of the foals was taking delicate steps closer to Remus, pausing a few feet away but leaning in, sniffing. A sudden, sickening thought dawned on Remus.

“Do you think they can still smell wolf on me? Can they tell I’m a werewolf?” He asked, glancing between the other three Marauders. James shrugged.

“Maybe. But even if they can, don’t take it personally, Moony. Unicorns grow into biased dicks anyway. They don’t like men.”

“I think you’ll be fine, Prongsy. You can’t even grow a beard.” Sirius snickered. 

“I dunno, Padfoot. If that’s what makes a man, your attempt at a goatee was pretty weak.” Peter said, glancing up at James, who was grinning viciously, even as Sirius grew a shade more flustered. 

“I shaved that off really quickly! And I thought we agreed never to talk about our aesthetic choices during fourth year ever again. Because I remember you wore those horrible square glasses for three months before I convinced you looked like an idiot. And Peter, you grew out your hair over the summer and had those bangs, like you were trying to be the first blond member of The Ramones. So don’t judge me for a short-lived, spur-of-the moment decision. Anyway, Moony, I can only smell your wolf smell if I snuffle right up close to you. Unicorns can’t be better at smelling things than dogs, can they?” Remus was only half listening to the chatter of the other Marauders. His eyes were fixed on the unicorn foal that had taken a few more uncertain steps forward, until its velvety muzzle was brushing his fingers. Behind him, Sirius gasped very quietly. 

“Look. Look at Moony.” 

The unicorn had bitten the apple in half and was chewing, its ears pricked forward. It really shouldn’t have been such a source of joy for Remus, but it was. The fact that a unicorn had approached him, sniffed at him, and eaten out of his hand anyway filled him with a warm, glowing burst of joy that almost made him forget how much his knees hurt, even just kneeling in the soft grass. Once the foal had taken the other half of the apple, Remus reached out a hand to stroke the silky fur of its nose. Across the grounds, the rest of the Gryffindor and Slytherin fifth years were beginning to make their way down the sloping lawn. Peter and Sirius pressed forward to try to get in some time with the unicorn before the others got in the way, but Professor Kettleburn was already making his way quickly across the grounds towards them too.

“Black. Potter. Pettigrew. Lupin. What are you four doing with that foal? You should wait for the lesson to begin before you go feeding her. Twelve points from Gryffindor.” Worth it, Remus thought as he gave the foal’s cheek a final rub before straightening up. 

The lesson went very well. They all got to pet the foals and, once Sirius had stopped shouting and laughing quite so loudly, he had made friends of two of the four, who he managed to entice into a game of tag as they tried to catch the flapping edge of his robes. That got him another five points off for blatant lesson disruption, but Sirius, like Remus, seemed to think that the loss of points was worth it. They returned to the castle for charms afterwards in high spirits, chatting cheerfully. 

The subsequent lesson went less well.

“Why didn’t she like me? Her foals did. We had loads of fun together. Why wouldn’t she let me near her?” Sirius had been disgruntled ever since the mature unicorn had noticed and objected to his presence in the group of girls that had been allowed to move closer to her, which surprised Remus. He understood why wanting to gain the trust of a unicorn foal had been important to himself, but Sirius didn’t have a furry little problem to worry about. Peter, who had been excited about the unicorns to begin with, didn’t seem to care, and James was haughty, as usual.

“I told you. They’re dicks.” 

“I don’t think the foals can go and give reports to their mother,” Remus pointed out, “And they weren’t even in the paddock to show her that they had made a friend.” That thought seemed to hearten Sirius somewhat. 

“You think that if I snuck down there while they were in the paddock together, between now and our last unicorn lesson on Friday, that I could get the mum to nuzzle my hand, like she nuzzled Lily’s?” 

“Give it up, Padfoot. It’s just a stupid magic horse with a stupid horn. It can’t even fly. Hippogriffs are loads better, and that one you rode adored you. And she nearly gored Avery before Kettleburn reined her in so you know she has good taste. And the crups all loved you best.” Sirius grinned at that.

“Well. They know what I am. We’re family.” 

“Want to play a game of gobstones, Sirius?” Peter asked, rattling the bag. Sirius wrinkled his nose.

“I just washed my hair, thanks.” But he dropped the subject of unicorns anyway.

Since Sirius often crawled into his bed to whisper—James and Peter fell asleep too quickly to bother with and according to Sirius neither was quite so satisfactory at cuddling—it was Remus who first noticed that Sirius hadn’t come upstairs with them when they trooped upstairs from the common room together at nearly midnight on Thursday. 

“Where’s Padfoot? He was just with us a minute ago.” Remus asked. On reflex, James looked at his open trunk at the foot of his bed. The invisibility cloak was still there. 

“Girl’s dormitory?” James suggested, at the same time as Peter said, “Kitchens?”

“He wouldn’t bother Lily and Marlene or the house elves this late.” Remus said, shaking his head.

“Ravenclaw Tower, then?” Peter said, “Dorcas Meadowes—“

“He’s not sleeping with Meadowes, I can promise you that,” Remus said. With an enormous yawn, James flopped into bed, dragging the blankets up around his ears.

“This is stupid. Look at the map.” 

He had a fair point. Fetching the map out of James’s bedside table, Remus touched his wand to it and murmured, “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” At once, the curling letters—James’s neat handiwork—and the careful mapping they had all contributed to began appearing on the page.

‘Messrs. Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs happily welcome Mr. Moony to our mutual creation The Marauder’s Map. Happy Mischief-Making.’

Remus barely read it, instead scanning the map for Sirius’s name. All of the Gryffindor fifth year girls were in their beds—no Sirius. No Sirius in or en route to the Ravenclaw Tower. Not in the kitchens, either. Chasing a hunch, Remus scanned the grounds, and sure enough, there was Sirius, having just exited out of the castle, moving down towards the paddock where the unicorns were kept.

“He’s going to see the unicorns.”

James was silent. In the next bed over from his, Peter let out a very drowsy, “Oh?” Useless. Sirius would almost certainly be able to sneak back up to the tower unaccosted. He knew every secret passage and hiding spot just as well as the rest of them, but unicorns, despite the lore about their purity and how pretty they were, were still dangerous animals, and Sirius never knew when to leave well enough alone. Grabbing the cloak from James’s trunk and stepping into his battered slippers, Remus pocketed his wand and the map, wrapped the cloak around himself, and started down towards the grounds. 

Three of the foals were asleep—two standing, one lying in the grass—but the fourth and the mother, nearly glowing in the moonlight, were awake. Remus spotted them across the yard before he spotted Sirius, who was dark and quiet as a shadow, though he was not trying to be particularly subtle. On the contrary, Remus saw him raise his hand to wave at the adult unicorn, whose ears were turned partway back. The foal cantered over to him, though, and Remus smiled as he watched Sirius stick out a hand for the foal to nuzzle. No, not nuzzle. Eat from. He’d placed a sugar cube in his palm, and the foal quickly lapped it up.

Remus couldn’t see Sirius’s face from this angle, but he watched as Sirius dropped down onto his knees as Remus had done when feeding it the apple, scratching its neck and running his fingers through its short mane under the mother’s watchful eye. He kissed its nose, then drew away. For a moment, foolishly, Remus thought Sirius was going to turn back and go to bed, but instead Sirius took the fence at a run, vaulting over it with his usual easy grace. It was a shame he didn’t play quidditch, Remus thought. Sirius would look incredible in the air. Remus’s hand went to his wand, running through useful spells to get Sirius out of harm's way quickly if need be. Maybe a shield charm would do it, to protect him from being gored or trampled. But perhaps now was not the time to find out if unicorn horns could pierce shield charms. A seize and pull spell would probably be better. But Sirius wasn’t trying to approach the adult. Not yet, anyway. Instead, his attention was still focused on the foal. It was trying to tug at the edge of his robe again, and Sirius, in little hops and evasive maneuvers, was egging it on. 

They played together like that, Sirius occasionally letting the foal grab onto his robe until, after a minute or so, the mother pawed the ground and took a step closer. Sirius froze, and the foal, free to do as it liked, gave a particularly hard tug. Remus heard tearing fabric, but Sirius still didn’t move. Instead he was digging into his pocket again. Two sugar cubes in his palm, he held his hand out to the mother, eyes averted, head down. Heart in his mouth, Remus took a few steps closer. One of the unicorn’s ears flicked in his direction, and Remus fell still again, but her eyes were fixed on Sirius, who was so motionless that Remus was sure he was holding his breath. Slowly, painfully slowly, the mother walked forward as the foal continued pulling at Sirius’s robes. Remus could see, now, the rip, four inches wide and growing wider still. 

And then it happened. The mother sniffed at his shoulder, then his hand, before dipping her head to pick up the sugar cubes with her lips. Remus still couldn’t see Sirius’s face, but he could all but _feel_ him beaming. He lifted his hand to rub the bridge of her nose, and Remus saw Sirius in profile, smiling the smile that made Remus think that, though she had nothing else in her credit, at least Walburga had given her son a very apt name. The unicorn only remained for a few seconds though before turning and walking back across the paddock, the foal releasing Sirius’s robes to follow her. Sirius let his arm fall, watching her leave for a long moment before jumping the fence again and starting back up for the castle. Remus followed him.

“Pads,” He said, quietly, and Sirius paused, turning to look his way, not seeming the least bit surprised when Remus pulled off the cloak. He only grinned and moved closer, their shoulders nudging as they began walking together.

“Hey Moony. Did you see that? I think she still liked Lily better, but she nuzzled my hand.”

“I saw. Congratulations, Sirius. I was worried for a minute, but you pulled it off. Your robes are torn. Would you like me to—“

“Go on, then.” Remus flicked his wand at the enormous tear.

“Vestis repairo.” It wasn’t as good as new. The spell never seemed to work as well on fabric as it did on broken glass or dented metal, at least in his hands, but a neat enough seam appeared as the torn robe closed. Sirius glanced down, squinting at it in the darkness before nodding. 

“Cheers, my dearest Moonbeam. Merlin. I thought she might kick me too, for a minute. But I think between the little baby and the sugar… My heart's still racing. Feel.” Sirius snatched Remus’s free wrist and they stopped. Sirius’s fingers were warm and worn against Remus’s own scarred arm as he pulled Remus’s hand to his chest to press it there, over his heart. It was beating very fast, a couple beats a second under his palm. Sirius’s grin widened as he gave Remus’s hand a squeeze before releasing it, “I could sing!”

“You’d better not!” Remus chuckled as they reached the main entrance into the castle, offering the edge of the invisibility cloak to Sirius, who accepted it, drawing it over his head. It took them only a few minutes to get back to Gryffindor Tower. The Fat Lady didn’t so much as blink, only swinging open with a drowsy wave when Remus whispered, “Jibber jabber.” They walked through the deserted common room and crept up the stairs to their dormitory, though Sirius was still nearly bouncing on the balls of his feet, and his eyes were too bright as they stepped into the room, silent except for Peter’s snoring. Remus was already in his pajamas and so just slid into bed, but Sirius had to change, and once he finished, he did not climb into his own bed. Instead he settled in next to Remus, smiling broadly. 

“An adult unicorn ate out of my hand, Moony. Can you believe it? I bet it would skewer Walburga the minute she dared to show her ugly face.” 

“Is that why it meant so much to you?” Remus whispered, “As… some sort of test? You know your family’s moral code isn't heritable. You don't have to be like them. You're not like them. I’ve told you that a dozen times, at least.”

“And I’ve told you you’re not a monster. But isn’t that what you were doing?” Remus looked away.

“I just… was wondering if the unicorns could tell that I’m dangerous.”

“You’re not dangerous,” Sirius scoffed, pressing close in the darkness to drape an arm over Remus’s chest. 

“Once a month I am dangerous, Sirius,” Remus said, looking back at Sirius again. Sirius rolled his eyes. “Really, Padfoot. It’s touching that you’re not afraid, but…”

“Maybe a little dangerous,” Sirius said at last, “But you’re not dangerous right now.”

“No. I’m not.” Sirius’s breath brushed his cheek a second before his lips did, warm and soft.

“The safest. The most unicorn-friendly Marauder.”

“I think you won that title from me tonight, Padfoot,” Remus said, and Sirius chuckled into his shoulder, wriggling in close.

“I guess I did. Sorry, Moony.” 

“That’s alright.” As Remus began to drift off, and it didn’t take long, he felt Sirius’s heartbeat, though it was against his side now instead of his hand—still racing—and he still could feel Sirius’s smile, too. Bright as the sun.


End file.
